It is well known to provide liquid fabric softening compositions that soften treated fabric. Such compositions are typically added to fabric in the rinse cycle of the wash process. It has been observed that consumer preference is for liquid fabric conditioners that appear thick and creamy, cued by having a high viscosity and a high opacity. Conditioners that appear thin and/or translucent/watery may be perceived as being cheap and ineffective, whereas conditioners that appear thick and creamy are perceived as premium products. To date, there is limited technology that allows the alteration of viscosity and opacity without causing problems such as poor dispensing or poor storage stability.
We have found that liquid fabric conditioners that appear thick and creamy may be prepared by adding particular levels of an emulsified oil of particular particle size to a dispersion of conventional cationic fabric softening agent in water.
Fabric conditioners comprising polymeric viscosity modifiers and cationic softening agent are known in the art. For example, WO-A1-02/081611 discloses a fabric softener composition for the treatment of textile fiber materials in domestic applications comprises a fabric softener and a water-soluble polyurethane obtainable by reaction of (a) a diisocyanate, with (b) a polyether containing at least one hydroxyl group, (c) optionally a diol derived from an aliphatic residue having from 2 to 12 carbon atoms, and (d) an agent introducing a water-solubilising group.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,377 discloses fabric softening compositions comprising a fatty alcohol ethoxylate-diurethane polymer as a thickening agent. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,129,694 and 4,292,412 disclose fabric softener compositions comprising a cross-linking urethane foam forming system.
EP-A2-0385749 discloses fabric conditioning compositions comprising a quaternary ammonium softening material and a polymeric thickener. The thickener has a hydrophilic backbone and two hydrophobic groups attached thereto.
Our co-pending application GB0408012.3 discloses thick and creamy compositions comprising an aqueous base, a cationic fabric Softening agent, and an emulsified oil in an amount such that the weight ratio of oil to cationic fabric softening agent is from 1:12 to 1:1, characterised in that the D[4,3] droplet size of the emulsified oil is from 0.4 to 8 microns.